Competition for new wireless broadband licences

23 Nov 200718 Views

The Commission for Communications Regulation (ComReg) has launched a new competition for wireless licences covering the 26GHz range which would be ideal for broadband backhaul and mobile base station applications.

“Fixed access technology in the microwave bands continues to advance and in recognising this ComReg is now making available by competition 17 new licences for 26GHz spectrum to meet the increasing data needs of telecommunications networks,” the chairman of ComReg Mike Byrne said last night.

The new licences will allow for the provision of point-to-point and point-to-multipoint fixed links.

A reserve price of €350,000 has been placed on each of the national licences and any one applicant can apply for more than six licences.

The regulator said that if demand exceeds supply then the licences will be awarded via an auction.

“This spectrum is suitable for a number of applications, including broadband backhaul, network connectivity between the network core and access nodes such as a GSM base station,” Byrne said.

“Having ensured adequate spectrum is set aside for occasional and low-demand users, we believe that making available additional national licences will offer high demand volume users greater flexibility in their use of this spectrum and opportunities for more efficient network planning,” said Byrne.